Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
GHOSTFACE
Poe
“I’d walk through hell if I knew you’d be waiting on the finish line.” — P
I sat in the large leather chair in Azariel’s office, my laptop open in front of me, fingers moving quickly over the keys. The words were flowing tonight, maybe because, for the first time in days, I didn’t feel like I was holding my breath.
The anxiety that had coiled so tightly around my chest last week had loosened its grip. I felt safe here. With him Azariel. And I wasn’t about to let one cowardly asshole with bad intentions undo everything that had started to bloom between us.
But as the words came, so did the memories. Flashes of that moment—the way he grabbed me by the neck, the helpless jolt of fear— rushed forward. My fingers hesitated on the keys, then instinctively moved to my head. I paused, my hand hovering over the spot where the butterfly stitches had once been. Now, there was nothing but the soft, tender skin beneath my fingertips. It healed quickly. The scar was still there, but it wasn’t angry, not as fresh. It already started to fade just like the fear and anxiety the assault brought.
When that man had wrapped his hand around my throat, it had dragged something old and buried to the surface. I’d been little the first time I felt that kind of terror—almost snatched from my mother’s arms. My father had been nearby, thank God. He got to us in time. But I remembered the panic in my mother’s eyes. The way she held me tighter for days. The fear that never quite left.
And this time… it all came back.
But Azariel had been there. He made sure I was safe. That nothing worse happened. That man could’ve killed me. Over what? Money?
Disgust churned in my stomach. Humanity could be so vile. So greedy. So cruel.
But then Azariel’s face flashed in my mind as he tenderly cleaned my wound. He was so careful. So gentle. And when he told me he’d learned to treat injuries on himself, before he ever knew what it was to be cared for.
That broke something in me.
He shouldn’t have had to learn to survive like that. Life isn’t fair—I know that—but it didn’t have to be that cruel to him.
I thought about him again, his big, tattooed hands in my hair, dyeing it because somehow he knew the growth was bothering me. How someone with so much pain in his past still knew how to be gentle. How to give softness where there’d been none before.
Even today—when we spent the day cooking and existing in the garden together—he showed me that quiet, unspoken tenderness. The kind that no one gets to see in him.
It had been a beautiful day. No, a beautiful week. All because of him.
Maybe that’s why the words were flowing tonight. Or maybe it was that sweet boost of energy from the Snickers bites Azariel had left on the desk for me. Now he leaves snickers all over like sweet little treasures for me to find.
He knows me too well.
I bit into another candy, the sweetness hitting my tongue as I leaned back in the chair. “Verali,” I said into the phone, holding it between my shoulder and ear. “You wouldn’t believe the nasty shit I wrote for this spicy scene.”
Her voice crackled through the speaker. “Ooooh. I like nasty shit.”
I grinned. She did. Verali wasn’t ashamed to admit. “Okay, so picture this…the hero has a breeding kink.”
Artemis visibly cringes. “Okay. Gross. I’ll pass.”
“Oh, come on. A dominant-submissive sex with the possibility of pregnancy fantasy doesn’t excite you?”
“Fuck, no. Anything that could result in little red-haired demons is a big no for me.”
Yeah, I thought so.
I laughed softly, glancing at the screen. “I think kids are cute.”
“I think that head wound might’ve caused brain damage, Poe. Seek help immediately.”
I was about to hit her with more sarcasm when the lights overhead flickered, then— snuff . I was bathed in complete darkness. The sudden quiet was creepy, and I froze in my seat, my eyes scanning the room for any sign of a malfunction or maybe a power surge. Shit. Am I accidentally touched one of the cables underneath Azariel’s desk and fucked something up?
“Uh… V?” I called, but the phone was dead. I glanced at the screen. The call had disconnected. That’s weird.
I sat there for a beat, trying to decide if I should call Verali again, but something felt off. There was an eerie calm. The fire in the hearth crackled softly, its orange glow the only light in the room.
I checked my phone, hoping to see a text from Azariel. Nothing. He’d gone to a meeting earlier, but he hadn’t returned yet.
I stood up, grabbing my phone and heading for the door. I needed to check the rest of the manor, make sure everything was okay. There was no one else here but me and the cats.
I stepped into the hallway and the silence was louder than it should have been, as if the manor itself was holding its breath. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was… way off.
I dialed Azariel’s number, my thumb pressing the screen with a little more force than necessary. It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Click . The line went silent.
My breath hitched, and my eyes darted around the hallway, my heart rate picking up for no apparent reason. Okay, there was a reason… I was getting scared.
The phone rang again but from inside the manor. The sound of it echoed like it was just waiting for me to follow.
My skin prickled with unease. There was no way Azariel had come back. He had a few meetings that he couldn’t postpone, and he said those would take hours.
Even though I was freaked out, I still moved toward the source of the ringing, my footsteps slow and hesitant, but my curiosity drove me forward. The dark halls felt different, and the strange ringing made my heart stop in my chest.
The ringing led me to the door of a room I hadn’t gone into before. I hesitated for a moment before turning the handle. The door creaked open, revealing an empty room bathed in shadows. The only light came from the flickering flames from the fireplace in the next room. The phone continued ringing but louder now.
Turn around, Poe…
“Azariel?” I whispered into the quiet, my voice barely more than a breath.
No answer.
“Okay… I’m scared now. Is that you? Because if it’s not, I’m about to embarrass myself and possibly shit a little.”
Nothing.
I stepped further into the hallway, eyes darting from corner to corner. Nothing looked out of place, which somehow made it worse. Because of course, nothing looked off. That’s how horror movies start. I would know. I’ve seen every horror movie made by man.
I’m not a coward who is afraid of a little dark, but hey I’m also not stupid. I don’t want to get killed.
And where the hell are Allen and Prince? If I didn’t know better, I would think my demon cat child plotted this to mess with me.
Suddenly, the phone stopped ringing.
I froze.
What the hell was going on?
I checked my phone again. Still nothing from Azariel. No calls. No texts.
My heart was pounding so loud I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself.
I tried calling him again. Ring… ring…
And then I heard it.
His phone. Ringing from somewhere inside the manor.
What. The. Actual. Hell.
Before I could bolt toward my room, the air around me shifted.
Then came the laugh— low, dark, a rumble that crawled up my spine and smacked me straight in the “you’re about to be murdered” instincts.
“You’re searching for me, baby?” His voice was smooth and dark. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
He came back early. He’s here. Somewhere. But I couldn’t see him.
A shiver ran down my spine. My heart skipped many beats. My handsome prince is messing with me.
“You asshole,” I muttered with a half-laugh that sounded way more terrified than I wanted it to. “Where the hell are you?”
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid,” he taunted, his voice laced with wicked amusement.
I could feel him now. Like a dark and powerful shadow wrapping around me.
I spun in a circle, arms half raised. Where is he hiding? He’s so damn good with shadows.
“Of course, I’m afraid. You ass. Why are you hiding in the shadows like a creep?”
“I think you like it.” His voice was dangerously close now, just behind me, sending a shiver down my spine. I spun around, but he wasn’t there.
“If this is one of your perverted games you should’ve told me.” I said heart hammering. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”
I could feel his smirk. Even invisible, I knew he was smiling like a smug demon.
His breath ghosted across the back of my neck, and I gasped.
“You want to play another game with me, little fox?” he whispered, low, sinful and seductive.
Yes. If it’s anything like the last game we played… God yes.
“Turn around, Poe.”
I did as he said and that’s when I saw him. Standing there, just a few feet away. The darkness wrapped around him like a cloak, but the firelight flickered in his eyes, those dark, haunting gray eyes that burned through my heart.
Azariel took a step closer, and I felt his need for me radiating off his body. His presence was consuming. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even think.
“You want me,” he said, a statement, not a question. His gaze was piercing, dissecting me with a hunger that made my stomach tighten. “I can smell it on you.”
I frowned. “You’re cocky.”
Even if I wanted to deny it. I wouldn’t be able to do it. He’s right. I want him. I want him always. I want him in every way.
His cold hand came up to my face, his thumb tracing the curve of my jaw, his touch addictive. God, I can feel wetness in my pussy. How could he do that to my body with just one touch?
“I missed my pussy,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper, his lips brushing my ear. “Did that sweet pussy miss me?”
“I—” I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat, the heat between us was too intense, too consuming. He was so hot. So… mine.
“Your pussy?” I asked with a smile on my face.
He grunted. “My pussy.”
His…
I like the sound of that.
I reached up slowly, my fingers brushing the stubble along his jaw before turning around and tugging him down to me. My lips met his, needy and hungry, and everything inside me exploded.
His kiss was passionate, dark and full of fire. He tasted like cherries and danger and something even more addictive.
Azariel’s kiss was intoxicating. Everything he did lit a fuse inside me. Every brush of his mouth, the stroke of his tongue, every possessive pull, drove me further into that aching space between need and madness.
When he pulled back, my chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. He stole the air right out of my lungs. The lights flickered back on, and that’s when I saw him.
I swear my legs nearly gave out.
Then, just as I thought I couldn’t think he could be any hotter, he appeared before me like a god, a dark figure silhouetted in the hallway.
He always looked like a God— an angry but beautiful one.
But what I hadn’t expected was the mask.
The Ghost face mask from Scream . It was white and eerie. His eyes gleamed from behind the mask, burning with an untamed hunger that made my blood run hot and my pussy leak.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him, the mask somehow making him look more dangerous, more insane.
Shit.
It was twisted. Maybe a little bit unhinged.
And it was so hot I made a mental note to steal it for a future book scene immediately.
Azariel took a slow step toward me, and he looked like a predator closing in on his prey. I was that— his willing prey.
“Does the mask turn you in, baby? Is it making your pussy wet?” His voice, muffled behind the mask, was dark, dripping with wild desire.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the way he moved, from the way he stalked toward me like he knew exactly what I needed.
Him.
Like this.
The twisted side.
“You’re crazy,” I whispered, breathless.
His eyes gleamed through the holes of the mask. “For you.”
My heart thudded. He was crazy for me.
Right back at you, baby.
I looked up and touched the white mask and got an idea. A dirty one. “Fuck me with it on?”
He chuckled darkly, the sound vibrating through his chest. “You want to watch me pound that pussy with the mask on?” He leaned in again, brushing the mask against my neck. “You’re filthy.”
I am. I don’t even deny it.
I like it filthy. I like it sweet. I like everything he gave me.
“You like it.” I teased.
“Fuck yes, I do.”
I gasped as he pulled me closer, his hands roaming over my body, pulling me into his twisted madness.
“Good. Because this is a fantasy of mine.”
“I know.” He said, then grabbed my ass and pushed close enough that I could feel erection.
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from moaning.
“And how do you know that?”
“I’ve read every single spicy scene in your books, Poe. The fear kink and the mask are your most popular ones with me.”
He read my books… of course. That’s even hotter. I can’t with this man.
Before I could catch my breath, Azariel swooped me into his arms.
I gasped, arms instinctively wrapping around his neck as he carried me like I weighed nothing—like he owned me.
He said nothing. Just walked, slow and sure, down the dark hallway to his room, the tension between us pulsing like static.
Then he kicked the door open.
And threw me onto his bed.
I landed on soft black sheets with a breathless laugh, heart pounding, pussy wetter than it’s ever been.
“You’re not wearing panties,” he pointed out.
I glanced down at what I was wearing—one of his oversized white shirts with nothing on underneath.
I smiled wickedly at him. “Easy access.”
He was over me in seconds, his large frame caging me in.
I stared up at him, breathless.
Then I watched as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone.
Thrill rushed through me as an idea popped up.
He caught the spark in my eyes and grinned—wicked, knowing, all teeth and lust.
He read my mind.
“You want me to film you while I fuck you, don’t you?” His voice was like smoke, curling around my dirty thoughts.
I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t have to. He saw the desire written across my face.
Still, I gave him the words. Soft. Bold. Dripping with need.
“If you want to make another fantasy of mine real...” I reached for him, pulling him closer until my lips touched where his lips were under the mask. “…press record.”
He growled like he wanted to eat me alive.
And then he pressed the button and he showed me just how filthy he could be.
All the while, he filmed us fucking in every position imaginable and I didn’t mind it one bit. If anything, it made me even hotter for him.
Fuck .
My eyes rolled to the back of my head when he spread my legs wide, slapped my pussy twice before spitting on it. It was filthy. At times depraved, too. I’d never done it like this. No one has ever made me feel like he did when he owned me with his cock, hands and tongue.
The man was hot and he knew it. He knew what he was doing to me and now he had videos of it.
He showed me just how much he wanted me when he fucked my pussy like he hated me and when he left me with bruises all over my skin and his cum spread across my tits.
And just when I thought he was done, he pulled off the mask, smiled like a demon from hell, and guided me to my knees. Once I was on my knees, he lifted the phone to my face, pried my mouth open, and with his free hand he offered me his cock. “Suck it.” He whispered darkly before shoving the head between my lips.
I opened to take him into my mouth, his taste salty, the skin soft around his thick, hard cock.
He fucked my face, thrusting deeper and deeper down my throat. His cock tightened impossible larger inside my mouth while he fisted my hair.
“Fuck, Poe. Shit, just like that, baby.” He pushed me back gently until my head hit the bed and then he stilled. I felt the first stream of cum hit the back of my throat. I swallowed every drop, loving the taste of him.
“Yum,” I murmured, tracing a finger over the sticky trail of dried cum on my neck. I brought it to my lips, tasting the salty sweetness with a smirk, savoring the lingering evidence of what he’d done to me.
Azariel’s eyes darkened as I licked my finger. “Fuck, you’re perfect,” he growled, pushing me down onto the bed. He threw the phone aside, held me by the neck and fucked me hard.
Again, and again… until I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.